Part VII: The Future of Public Administration as a Scholarly Field Tina Nabatchi is an assistant professor of public management in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. Her research focuses on citizen engagement and participation, collabora- tion, and alternative dispute resolution. E-mail: tnabatch@maxwell.syr.edu The (Re)discovery of Public in Public Administration S309 Tina Nabatchi Maxwell School of Syracuse University Te (Re)discovery of the Public in Public Administration I n the 130-plus years since Woodrow Wilson’s (1887) article launched the self-conscious study of public administration, 1 the field has made great strides. One area where less work has been done is in generating a robust understanding, let alone theory, of the public in public administration (for an exception, see Frederickson 1991). Although concern about “the public” 2 and “publicness” 3 has waxed and waned throughout the history of the discipline, our attention seems to have shifted away from this issue toward more managerialist (i.e., instrumental and techno- cratic) research. In 2020, as we approach 150 years of the study of public administration, the field will have taken significant and meaningful steps toward the rediscovery of the public in public administration—that is, attention to the political theory of administration, in which citizens are sovereigns. Such rediscovery will be aided by developments in theory and practice with regard to public value and public values theory and to public participation and deliberation. Before examining these coming developments, it is useful to note that several scholars have articulated the problems that arise for public administration from our lack of understanding about the public and publicness (e.g., Bozeman 2007; Frederickson 1991; Ventriss 1989, 1997). Rather than recap their arguments, I prefer to draw attention to a different issue, namely, that even a cursory glance at the world around us would convince many that the problems facing humanity and the earth are profound and pro- liferating, so much so that some have concluded we are “living in dark times” (e.g., Isaac 1998; Nabatchi, Goerdel, and Peffer, forthcoming; Stivers 2008). For example, in the United States (and elsewhere), we see failure in numerous policy realms, from education, energy, and the environment, to housing and health care, to transportation, industry, and finance, among others. Internationally, nations suffer the plights of poverty, drought and famine, ethnic cleansing, war, and terrorism. At the global level, humanity is threat- ened by climate change, food and water shortages, infectious disease, and possibilities of biochemical and nuclear war. Regardless of whether one buys the “dark times” argument, the number, scale, magnitude, and possible consequences of these challenges arguably have never been more intense. Certainly, government is not the only institution responsible for addressing these challenges, and multisectoral partnerships will be needed. Nevertheless, over the next decade, public admin- istration scholars will amplify their efforts to tackle these and other problems. Preceding this recognition will be broad acceptance of the argument that scholarship in our field must “grow out of actual social tensions, needs, ‘troubles’” (Dewey 1938, 499). 4 Following this recognition, scholars will acknowledge that their ability to effec- tively address complex modern issues requires a robust understanding of publicness and rich interactions with the public. Such understanding and interaction will enable scholars, public managers, and other offi- cials to better identify public preferences, goals, and values as they pertain to inherently complex choices and trade-offs. In turn, this will generate better public action, in both a governmental and a civic sense. To this end, the next 10 years will witness scholars of public administration undertaking vigorous research agendas, with the ultimate goal of identifying pro- cesses and mechanisms that maximize the likelihood for an organized, collective will capable of addressing and resolving these and other problems. Progress will be made in at least two important areas. First, the field will begin to advance an understanding In 2020, . . . the field will have taken significant and meaningful steps toward the rediscovery of the public in public administration—that is, attention to the political theory of administration, in which citizens are sovereigns.